Environmental injustice in the air quality for digital platform delivery workers in Bogotá, Colombia, 2021

Abstract

Introduction: Air quality is a matter of interest for public health due to its rapid deterioration in low- and middle-income countries and the effects of polluted air on the health of populations.

Objective: To explore the air quality conditions in which digital platform delivery workers carry out their work, evaluating the localities of Kennedy and Usaquén in Bogotá, 2021.

Materials and methods: We developed a mixed parallel convergent study based on four sources of information: 1) Ethnographic observation in five commercial locations of the two localities; 2) Monitoring of PM10 and PM2.5 in 56 delivery routes using a low-cost sensor; 3) Daily logs of the routes to support the device data interpretation, and 4) A semi-structured interview applied to the drivers to explore their danger perception during the routes.

Results: We identified elements causing environmental injustice among digital platform delivery workers between the two study locations. The routes made by the delivery drivers in the locality of Kennedy registered higher concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5, compared to the values observed in Usaquén. The sources of air pollution identified by the delivery drivers through ethnographic observation and the router logbook showed the worst parameters in Kennedy.

Conclusions: We evidenced that air quality, urban equipment, road infrastructure, mobile sources, and geospatial location are elements that mark the presence of environmental injustice for the digital platform delivery drivers in the studied localities. To reduce this inequity, it is necessary for digital delivery platforms and the district government to implement strategies that reduce the exposure and emission of air pollutants to protect the health of digital platform delivery workers.